"I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid."

― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

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Ever since Porsche began working for the Theerapanyakun family, the youngest son of the major family has been a mystery to him. For a long period, he was unaware of his existence. Everyone had kept silent about him, treating everything about him as if he were Voldemort, the dark lord himself. But for some reason, as soon as Kim vanished, everyone, particularly the Theerapanyakun cousins, seemed determined to give him and Porchay a crash course on him.

"Have you seen Lord of the Rings?" Macau had demanded them out of nowhere on the first day they had gathered in Kinn's office.

Thinking he had been trying to have a conversation with Porchay, who was close to his age, Porsche had encouraged his brother when he had looked at him.

"A long time ago?" Porchay had replied, posing it as a question.

"Do you remember Gollum? The character who kept muttering My precious?" Macau had asked eagerly.

"The monster who was obsessed with the ring?" Porsche asked before his brother could respond. He had watched the movie ages ago on the TV with Porchay on the rare occasions when he had been at home and not working.

"Exactly," the youngest Theerapanyakun excitedly nodded before continuing, "That's Kim. That's how he is for the things and people he likes. Once he claims something or someone as his, then that's how he behaves."

"Ahh, okay?" Chay muttered, confused at the pitiful gaze he was being subjected to.

The weird conversation was similar to the one Porsche he had with Vegas after Korn had confirmed Kim's return.

"Kim rarely gets attached to people, but when he does, he is very possessive. He is like a dragon hoarding over treasure," Vegas had told him while they had been taking a smoke break.

"That's typical Theerapanyakun behavior," Porsche had commented, shrugging off the sudden need of people around him to share their thoughts on the mysterious Theerapanyakun.

"He is different in that manner. The last known affair of his was in high school. He was fifteen at that time, but the guy died and Kim moped around for a year before leaving home to sing sad songs about lost love," Vegas said, letting out smoke from his nose as he looked up at the dark sky.

"I have heard some of that. Chay used to play some of his songs on repeat," Porsche had muttered while lighting up another cigarette.

"If what I am suspecting is true, he won't back off," Vegas had said as if he was warning about something terrible while looking at him in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Porsche had asked him, but Vegas hadn't done anything but walk away with a shrug, leaving him confused.

For Porsche, the confusion had only increased ever since and intensified when he had seen his own younger brother talking with Kim as if they knew each other and the way Porchay had dragged him to the corner of the room as if they had some secrets. That had started the ringing of alarms in Porsche's mind, which had reached a new peak when Korn kept looking at Porchay while talking to Kim.

And now, here they were, trapped in Korn's office with a dead body bleeding out at their feet, and Kim declaring war on his father. The ongoing conversation snapped Porsche out of his horror.

"Is this a coup?" Vegas asked excitedly.

'Of course, the idea of violence would entertain him,' Porsche thought while shaking his head.

"Better than yours, isn't it, cousin?" Kim responded with mirth, making the other man laugh.

'No matter what Kinn and Khun think, Vegas is right. They both are the same brand of sociopaths,' Porsche observed, a bit disturbed.

"Just out of curiosity, how did you pull this off?" Korn demanded his son.

"I just applied your own rule of divide and rule, Father. With Big and Chan gone and many of your men dead, thanks to you, you lost the loyalty of others. The stunt you pulled, faking your death and letting everyone die in vain? That broke down your control over the chessboard. Whoever survived understood that they were just paws, they could lose their lives just as easily as they lost their loved ones and friends. Are you surprised that there are people who want change?" Kim asked with a half smirk and one eyebrow raised in question.

"And what have you promised them?" Korn asked, calmly searching for the cracks.

"Oh, let's see...Your death? A new leader?" Kim muttered with a careless shrug.

"This is a hostile overtake then. You are coming after what is your brother's? Did you hear that, Anakinn?" Korn asked, looking at his heir, finally granting him his attention.

'Oh, now he is paying attention to Kinn?' Porsche thought bitterly as he glared at the elder man.

"I never said I was the new leader," Kim said with a chuckle, taking away the said attention once again.

"Since when have you been planning this?" Korn asked.

"Hmm, ever since I perfected my aim? But I have always been indecisive about how to kill you. Knife or gun? And before that? Oh, I can't tell you how many times I have been close to slipping poison in your evening tea when I was living under the same roof as you," Kim confessed with a charming laugh. "But everything has to happen at the right time, right?"

"You are improvising. "You are improvising. This wasn't planned," the elder man asked, smugly after he found the crack he was searching for.

"Life doesn't go as planned," Kim said offhandedly.

"And what if you are wrong about their loyalty to you?" Korn asked with a smirk.

And for a second - a second far too long - Kim paused, seemingly calculating the possibility of walking right into his father's trap. Porsche could almost hear his thoughts.

"Are you actually sure about them being loyal to you?" Korn asked, prying on the little cracks.

Porsche felt Kinn tense beside him. One of the things he had been told about Kim had been how he had trust issues so strong that it wasn't past him to doubt his own shadow. Something that had isolated him completely. Kinn and Tankhun had affirmed that their youngest brother was a bit too paranoid with the thought of losing control over things, over the situations, over people, over himself. Not that dissimilar to Korn himself. The reason why their father always thought Kim was better suited as an heir than Kinn. Porsche didn't agree one bit. But as he observed what was going in front of him, he could sense Kim was more than what he let on. He wasn't only his father. It must be a side of him that came to be because of his upbringing, or him having enough of his father's abuse, or maybe even the part he inherited from his mother that made him so unpredictable, unreasonable, and a bit too impulsive. Just the way he was right now.

After a few seconds of pause, Kim picked up the conversation with a nonchalant attitude as he replied to his father: "You aren't getting out of here alive, anyway."

"You aren't going to kill our father, Khimhant. I won't let you," Kinn yelled at his brother.

"I don't need your permission, Anakinn. Do you want the first-row seat and be a witness? Be my guest, but don't interfere," Kim dismissed his brother with a glare.

'He is a brat,' Porsche couldn't help but comment in his mind because, as much as Porsche was with him on his plan to get rid of Korn, he didn't like the way he was talking to his elder brother.

"Are you actually planning to kill me, Khimhant?" Korn asked his son.

"You left me no choice," Kim said with a shrug. "Escort these three out," he said to one of the bodyguards before nodding at the Tankhun, Porchay, and Macau.

"I am not going anywhere," Tankhun and Porchay protested at the same time.

'Again?' Porsche thought as he frowned at his brother's attitude. What was that he was missing? What was going on between his brother and Kim?

"Khun," Kim stressed with a sigh.

"No, if you think it needs to be done, then fine. But I am staying here. I have all the right to know why you are doing this," Tankhun said with a stubborn glare, stomping his feet down.

"Am I actually the sane brother? What are you both on about? We aren't killing our only living parent," Kinn yelled at his brothers, who were taking this way too casually.

Hearing him, Porsche wished that for once, Kinn would let go of his loyalty and devotion to his father because, as Kim had pointed out, it was unnecessary and brought only pain and disappointment to him, to them, and to everyone. Porsche snapped out of his musing when Kim, for the first time, looked directly at him as he spoke.

"Do you want your brothers to see this?" Kim asked him and then looked at Vegas while ignoring his brothers.

"Why are you sending him away? Are you afraid he would see you for who you really are, Khimnat?" Korn asked, trying to bring Kim's attention back to him.

"But let me tell you, I was ready too. In fact, I have been waiting for you," he said with a chilling smirk. "I may have no man here in this room, but irrespective of what happens here, I have given the order to my men to shoot Porchay as soon as he gets out of here," Korn informed with a smirk.

"What the hell did you say?" Porsche jumped out of the sofa, ready to attack the elder man just to be pushed down by Kinn. He allowed himself to be pulled down only when he saw Kim extracting another knife from his sleeves and slicing through Korn's thigh. The pained huff the elder man let out wasn't satisfying enough for what he had dared to utter, but it was at least something.

"Where has he been hiding these weapons? They checked us outside," Porchay commented in a whisper, and when Porsche looked at his brother, he was bewildered. Was that admiration or curiosity on his baby brother's face as he looked at Kim? Was he more interested in knowing about how Kim hid his weapons than the fact that Korn was planning to kill him? He sure had messed up priorities. Porsche couldn't help but wonder where he went wrong in raising the kid. Sometimes he really couldn't understand the way his younger brother's brain worked. The boy had no self-preservation...

"I wanted this to be quick, Father, but now you are making me change my mind," Kim muttered, twisting his knife.

Porsche didn't like the way they kept dragging the name of his brother between their conversations. If Kim hadn't hurt Korn for mentioning his brother, he didn't know what he would have done to the old man. His blood was boiling at the temperature of hell at how casually Korn said that his men had his orders to shoot Porchay.

"Why do you two keep dragging my brother into your conversations?" Porsche demanded, fuming with rage. Yet he went unheard. Again.

"I see you have decided your weapon then," Korn muttered, trying to control his expression as blood flowed down his leg.

Porsche wanted him to die. That's it. No man intending to hurt his brother should live...

"Should I escort the kids and Khun Tankhun out and stay with them?" Kim's bodyguard (Anon?) asked him.

"Let them be," Kim muttered with a frown. It seemed like he had once again calculated the pros and cons of the situation and decided that he couldn't take risks, even if his father was bluffing.

As much as Porsche didn't want his brother to witness the patricide and violence, letting Porchay stay was the best option. The presence of his eldest brother and Porchay in the room seemed to particularly disturb Kim for some reason. Porsche didn't know what his plan was, but it seemed Korn had ruined it. The consequences of ignoring Korn's warning were too much risk. So instead of sending the three people away, Kim decided to pull the knife out of Korn's leg to let out some of his anger on the man who caused it. And Porsche was all about it, cheering Kim on inside his mind.

"You are ruining my white carpet," Korn said with a huff, controlling his breathing as more of his blood pooled down around his feet.

"Khun will renovate anyway," Kim responded with a casual shrug.

Before Porsche could attempt to once again ask the two men what they were going on about his brother, he was distracted by the whispers of the couple sitting not far away from them.

"People say I am the psychopath of the Theerapanyakun family. They clearly haven't seen these two," Vegas muttered a light complaint but otherwise totally entertained. Before he could comment some more, he was hushed by his lover.

"What? Don't you see that by Theerapanyakun standard, I am quite normal," he pointed out, yet let Pete cover his mouth with his hand to stop his commentary.

Turning his head towards the front, Porsche called out Korn.

"As entertaining as you both's conversation is, Khun Korn, what do you mean by you have ordered people to kill my brother? You had promised me his protection. He hasn't done anything to you or anyone," Porsche said, barely controlling his rage as he glared at the elder man.

"Well, you see, Porsche, my youngest son here, has a soft spot for your brother," Korn replied with a teasing smile, knowing well how much he was getting on the nerves of the said son.

"I have to thank young Porchay for he is the reason I know my son is even capable of feeling something," he continued, but as soon as he looked in Porchay's direction, his view was blocked by Kim.

"What? Can't I even look at him? Can't even thank him?" He asked with a twisted smile.

"Next time you dare to look in his direction, I am going to pull your both eyes out," Kim warned in a calm voice but barely controlled the urge for violence.

"You do care how he sees you if you are only threatening me, Khimhant. Admit it," Korn said, his smirk only stretching his face more when Kim remained silent.

"Theerapanyakun's first love always dies. Khimhant, remember that," he muttered with an amused laugh.

"That tradition is going to die with you," Kim promised.

"It's a curse, son, not tradition," the elder man objected.

"How are you trying to fool?" Kim snorted.

"Wait,ì a second. How is Porchay Kim's first love? Wasn't it that guy in his high school?" Vegas asked, confused. He remembered teasing his cousin for his one-year-long mourning period after the death of his first love.

"Exactly. Anuman was his first love, Pa," Tankhun corrected.

"Your brother fooled you all. That was most probably one of his finest performances. Anuman was a senior in his school who groomed pretty boys to exploit them and posted the whole thing on the dark web. So Kim here used that boy as a cover, claimed him to be his first love, plotted the whole crime exposure thing to police, and got him killed," Korn narrated with an amused laugh.

'This Kim was a brilliant mastermind,' Porsche thought, impressed at the fifteen-year-old Kim's ability to devise such a plan.

But he seemed to be the only admirer because, as he looked at Kinn and Tankhun, both were looking at each other in shock. Porsche was reminded of what they had told them when he had asked them what Vagas meant by Kim being a dragon and living the life of a monk after the death of his high school sweetheart. The two brothers told Porsche about that year when they had been worried and restless with the thought of their baby brother's first heartbreak. Kim, who had already witnessed the death of their mother at seven, had then seen his first love die at fifteen and had shut down completely after that. Both Kinn and Tankhun had shivered remembering the dark days and nights they had feared losing their brother and how in the first few days, every hour or so they used to knock on the door of their brother's room knowing their calls would find no response yet feared Kim doing something to himself even more. Kinn had confessed how horrifying it had been seeing Kim shutting everyone out and how he and Tankhun both had felt concerned, helpless at their inability to console their baby brother.

They both had confessed to Porsche of spending that year and the following years tormented by helplessness and guilt. Just to know now that it had been just another lie Kim had told them?

'That must hurt,' Porsche thought with a hiss.

Without paying much attention to his brothers, Kim went on having a conversation with Korn as if his father hadn't outed him for having told lies to his brothers for years.

"Nevertheless, with you gone, there would be no danger," Kim said with a shrug.

Porsche looked at his brother to know what his reaction was, but Porchay had his eyes fixed on Kim with a frown, and even when Porsche elbowed him, he didn't change his focus. Having no response from his younger brother, Porsche asked the question out loud: "Is Kim admitting that Porchay is his first love and he is going to kill his father so Khun Korn wouldn't kill my brother?"

"I know your brain is a little slow, but try to catch up, okay?" Macau mocked before shaking his head and focusing on the tense drama.

"Shut up, you brat," Porsche said with a growl. Vegas could glare at him all he wanted, but the youngest two babies of the Theerapanyakun were spoiled and insensitive brats. While Macau seemed to adore his brother, Kim was cruel to even their older brothers. It seemed like no one had bothered to teach them how to behave respectfully. But now that he was here, he could. He was, after all, the model elder brother. His youngest brother even called him Hia, while these two brats called their elder brothers by their names.

'Just let us get out of here. I will teach them a lesson on how to talk to elder brothers,' Porsche thought with a frown as he observed the careless attitude of Kim while his elder brothers looked heartbroken.

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A/N:- While I was reading this chapter, I thought it would be interesting to write it from Porsche's POV as when I had written it from Kim's, I couldn't include others' reaction to what was going on as his whole attention was on Korn, and just him. So I re-wrote this chapter, I hope it was worth the wait... :D 

Please let me know your thoughts in the comment section. If you liked the chapter or not. Where do you think the conversation between Kim and Korn would go? Any predictions? 🙃

Thank you for waiting, reading, and liking this story so far... ♥️

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